With fiery hands and sharp fingers,
Adept at stealing and robbery,
Said the following:
‘The tribes of Kun-Erken46
With the reins on their backs
Will oppress us
When they find our fresh footprints,
They will bring misfortune to us
When they find our old footprints,
They will keep us in subservience…
Outright repudiation will not be enough
When they catch us,
Remorseless slander will be meaningless.
Let us not be neighbours with dogs,
Let us keep away from them.’
They so said and decided to settle
In the voracious,
Swirling, southern fiery sky,
In the ravenous country
With exploding flames
Full of dissent, greed and avarice…
The tribes of Arsan-Dolai,
With the soft, silent steps,
With the habit of stealing at night,
Relishing robbery and break-ins,
Said the following:
‘The tribes of Aiyy-Khan47
With the reins on their backs
Will oppress us,
If we plunder or destroy something,
We will not find any place to hide…
If we offend the tribe of Kun-Erken
And find a shelter at the bottom
Of the bloody Eluu-Cherkechekh,
It will be hard for them to find us.
If we offend the tribe of Aiyy-Khan
And go down to the Under World,
The three laughing abysses,48
Will be the best place to hide.’
So they went down to the disastrous Under World
And settled in this place…
‘Let us choose them!’
They appointed
Odun Khan, Genghis Khan, Jilga Toyon49
As the Lords of the Upper and Under tribes.
Giving them strength and power,
The great, arrogant and tall Jurantai50
Became their right-hand man.
‘He can use his fist if need be,’ they said…
After that, the highest deities
Who were so great
That the earth could not bear them,
Decided on their fate
To establish life in the Middle World.
But when they looked closely,
It turned out
That the Earth would court disasters
And become a source of discord
Between the Under World,
The land of Ajarais
Where cold winds blow,
And the Upper World,51
The greedy skies
Where frosty winds blow…
‘We are uncommon and powerful,
Knowing everybody and everything,
Will we not succeed in establishing
Life in the Middle World?
Let us populate it with thirty-five tribes
Of the Urankhai Sakha selected out of three kins,
Who are lucky and merry,
Bubbling over with joy,
Who have belts around their waists,
Who are front-faced and straight-nosed,
Who have heads that turn
And flexible joints
And bodies of flesh
And warm, moist breath,
Let us give life to the Middle World.
That was a wise decision by the highest deities…
Straight to the east if you go,
Where the radiant white sky becomes as soft
As suede and hangs down smoothly,
Where the sky borders the earth,
Where the ripe and voluptuous Mother Earth,
Breathing damp air and fog,
Curves in like wooden skis,
At the bottom of the sacred mountain
Where the Yi – Moon Khotun was born, lounging,
Behind the golden mountain
Where the Kun – Sun Toyon52 was born, frolicking,
Where three graceful white birch trees
Grow splendidly,
Predestined by Mother Nature
To be a yellow chechir.53
Kun Jehegei Toyon,54 Kureh Jehegei Khotun55
